Complex manufacturing projects such as the design and manufacture of aircraft require that engineering information, component parts and processes be successfully integrated. With regard in particular to the production of aircraft, typically hundreds of thousands of parts and associated processes must be integrated according to a comprehensive plan to produce an aircraft in accordance with the engineering information.
Engineering information typically includes engineering drawings and parts lists that, when combined, form an engineering product structure generally known as an Engineering Bill of Material (EBOM). The EBOM describes how materials, components assemblies and sub-assemblies must be combined to form the desired product, and thus defines the as-designed configuration of the product. A Manufacturing Bill of Material (MBOM) is generated from the EBOM and a manufacturing process plan so that a list of parts may be scheduled for assembly of the product on the factory floor. The manufacturing process plan typically includes factory floor planning, tool planning and scheduling, compilation of work plans for assembly personnel, assembly plans, and other similar activities. Accordingly, the MBOM generally defines an as-planned configuration for the product.
The as-designed configuration and the as-planned configuration for the product often require reconciliation before production may occur. For example, the as-planned configuration may require assembly of the product in a sequence not contemplated in the as-designed configuration, or alternately, the as-planned configuration may require the modification of a part in the as-designed configuration in order to facilitate the installation of the part into the final product. In addition, over the production lifetime of the product, various production differences may occur, including component, tooling and material substitutions, and/or labor reallocations instituted as timesaving measures. Consequently, considerable effort is generally required to accurately maintain the MBOM.
Current systems and practices used to formulate the MBOM are serially executed, and are highly fragmented. Consequently, significant amounts of time must be devoted to formulation and/or reconciliation of the MBOM. Further, current systems and practices generate numerous errors that require the expenditure of still more time to correct.